Pets At Home

[5teady_2012]

I hate fs that have a one filter system to run all tanks, in my opinion its just pure laziness and greed..

I know some places have lots of tank but im sure it would be a lot more sucessfull way to have thier own filter systems

This here shows just how ignorant you are of trying to upkeep a large number of tanks on a tight budget.

If having individual filters was the best way then the shops would have them that way. Look at most people who run fish rooms, do they have an individual filter on each tank, or do they find a way to centralise the system (through a common sump or large air powered system)?

Do you also hate fish keepers with a number of tanks who choose to create a larger, more stable, system with centralised filtration? I have two centralised filter systems, does that make me lazy and greedy, or just more sensible knowing that my 15 gallon frogfish tank is connected to a further 140 gallons of water?

Think before you comment

Stones and glass houses comes to mind

I just say what i think in my mind... and my lfs with over 100 tanks is lot more better than P@H (who have roughly 30-40) and they use seperate filters..

Ok i appologise, maybe the lazy and greedy comment was a bit harsh so im sorry, as im sure other places do look after thiers more (a lot more).

ps.. ignorant? i dont think so.. when i asked him in the lfs, does it do your head in waterchanging so many tanks he replied: its well worth it at the end of the day cos if a tank picks up a disease, it dont spread to other tanks and i can treat it seperatly..

I thought that was a good reply (shows dedication not ignorance)

 

[aquila]

3) i was taken on for my knowlege in fish, as the only other really "fishy" person is linda, and she only does weekdays. I had to undergo a long induction phase training me on the basics for all the animals, shop work etc, but i did not need to undergo a time on the tills before being allowed to see to the fish & animals (i would like to know who had that problem, and in which store please)


Thanks

Kribster

That may well have been me. I sent in an application form to the Telford branch of P@H probably two/three years ago now and went in for an informal interview. I was told that I'd have to spend 6-12 months in an induction period where I would be mostly working on the tills, stocking and with the small mammals before I would be considered for 'promotion' to the fish section. Bearing in mind I was still at college back then and only wanted a part time job, and more specifically wanted to work with fish, I declined.

The same store has recently been revamped but the quality of fish is still very low. Many of the fancy goldfish have spine deformities and all look listless, bottom-sitting or floating on top with SBD. Many had ich but the tanks were not labelled as being not for sale. They had near-dead bettas in with barbs and tetras. In the brief time I was in there last someone was sold three silver sharks for the small tank that they had just purchased. I have also witnessed a member of staff refilling a half-empty tank containing gouramis with a hose - the hose was on very powerfully and he and a colleague were laughing at how the gouramis were being blasted against the sides of the tank.

 

[oddball_lover]

Can't fault the Crayford branch.

 

[andywg]

ps.. ignorant? i dont think so..

So commenting on a system of keeping tanks so dismissivley without any idea of the benfits doesn't show ignorance? Saying that keeping the tanks all centrally connected is lazy and greedy isn't ignorant? I am afraid I disagree.

when i asked him in the lfs, does it do your head in waterchanging so many tanks he replied: its well worth it at the end of the day cos if a tank picks up a disease, it dont spread to other tanks and i can treat it seperatly..

Any well thought out centralised system can soon have any tank set up independantly; you just drop the water level below the drain, turn off the supply valve and put in an independant filter. One independant tank.

UV filters on the return pump(s) are a well proven way of preventing many forms of infection across the whole system, as is a dedicated seperate quarantine section.

I thought that was a good reply (shows dedication not ignorance)

I think it shows a preference of how your lfs wants to do it. It does not indicate that anyone who does different is ignorant and lazy which is the conclusion you came to. Have you ever actually spoken to someon who does use a centralised system?

If centralised filters are so bad, why do so many of the largest (and often considered the best) LFS in the country run them? Because the benefits of a well designed system far outweigh the downside. This is a commercial venture after all. Why waste time having to pay someone to water change all the tanks when you can have an automatic water change set up to keep the water in far beter nick?

 

[Cooper2085]

Well up until yesterday i would have said the P@H in Mansfield was ok. There have always been a few dead fish but no obvious signs of disease, and the fish seem happy enough..... Until yesterday.

I go in to pick up a 10-60L airpump and while there browse the fish. It was awful, dead fish in 1/2 the tanks, fish eating the dead fish, and a single goldfish in a tank with Cardinal Tetras and a betta. I casually mention that the fish must be in the wrong tank and that there are some dead fish around, i basically got told that they were short staffed and to keep my nose out....

Ok ok i go back to browsing the fish and a guy comes in nd picks up a 60L tank. He starts asking the girl what would be best for it and what fish he could add.

To cut a long story short he bought 5 mollies a silver shark and a betta. Then she recommended frozen food. Bloodworm, twice a day. Nothing about the shark being territorial. Nothing about stocking. Nothing about cycling. I tried to not sound nosy and tried to explain about cycling, the girl gave me evils and the guy buying just ignored me.

Hes going to end up with dead fish and P@H with more £

 

[firetank]

I was a manager at P@H and think they get a bad rap partly because they are a big chain and thus an easy target over a mom and pop store.

True there are stores that are shockingly ran and also there are exceptional ones; same can be said for any independant or mid sized chain - dobbies, maidenhead etc.

I know in P@H the training infrastructure is there and is used, but as they have a high staff turnover its difficult to get people in long enough to get them fully trained. a lot of people think working for a P@H is all fluffy etc and in reality its not it is a retail outlet and more time is spent stocking serving etc which leads to the high turnover ~ people realise its not what they though it was. (a lot of staff also tend to be student\school leavers and there is high staff turnover in that age group naturally.)

What P@H do bring is stores to areas that may not have that well stocked\immaculate LFS and make the hobby accessible to more people - often overlooked.

Oh and its impossible to never have a dead fish in a tank at some point in a day; a check every hour is a more realistic approach.

Craig

 

[oddball_lover]

To cut a long story short he bought 5 mollies a silver shark and a betta. Then she recommended frozen food. Bloodworm, twice a day. Nothing about the shark being territorial...

Silver sharks territorial? Are you thinking of red-tails?

 

[nakomis90]

You have a very good point...
im hoping too work at the P@H at wrexham wales...
they do the same as you....
so i think people attcking pets at home as a whole need to sit back and realise its NOT the whole chain jut a few reall bad ones...
I think main concerns is where betta fish are kept and how there kept....
dead fish cant be helped ocasionally but deseases can be treated....

 

[5teady_2012]

Saying that keeping the tanks all centrally connected is lazy and greedy isn't ignorant? I am afraid I disagree.

And i do belive i appologised for that..

my local P@H (the one im on about in previous posts) is terrible and should be sorted..

I in no way intended to upset you and if i have done once again, im sorry..

And i repeat im very sure there is lots of places with this type of system that look after thiers a lot better but my personal prefrence is fs that dont have them, i know the comment about greedy and lazy was out of order but i have appologised (more than once which seems you overlooked) and not wish further to carry that on with that.


Wayne

 

[berylfall]

We have a Pets at Home on the other side of town and when we buy any fish there we get a 7 day written guarantee in the event that any of the fish become ill or die we can return them, preferable with a sample of water from our tank. I don't know anywhere else that does this.

 

[turnnidge]

I have to say, my local P@H in Hemel Hempstead is fantastic it looks fairly refurbished and the staff in the aquatics centre are really good, and if they are not to sure they will get someone to talk to you, (but most of all they stay and listen to what the other one said!).

Although the store in 'Slough' well yeah imagine the place, you can picture the store. It was disgusting the tanks were well overcrowded and I'm not an expert all the tanks were 'GREEN' and the stand alone units were minging it was awful I walked out in disgust and complained to their manager, and as I left heard someone shout ' Can someone goto fish NOW!' but you can tell they no jack sh#t.

And yeah the big stores like that will always get the rep of being bad, just like Tesco in food retail so either way they cannot win. Unless all their stores are kept to the highest on standards like my local!

 

[nudzy]

Hi everyone,

I have just returned from a visit to my local pets@home and have to say in STEVENAGE they are fab.

I am new to the hobby and they have been great, advising me on stocking, replacing a fish that died, without me taking it back, testing my water, explaining to me and my friend (also a newbie) what fish are shoaling, how many fish like to be together to keep them happy and comfortable in their groups. what temp to keep tank at, also substrate and plant.

Also I had a poorly fish with suspected fin-rot, we was not sure if he had been nipped or not they took him gave me a replacement and then offered to let me know when he was better so I could have him back!

Also the only mistake they/I made was I bought 2 algae eaters (the golden ones) then after doing research I relised my mistake and that they may not have been suitable for my tank in maybe a year down the line I talked to them they advised me to bag them up take them back and swapped them for corys which were more suited to my tank.


This store used to be shocking like some of the others, when I was fishkeeping 5 years ago they had dead/ decomposing or half dead fish in manky maintained tanks.
Staff that just shrugged, they sold me a pleco to go in a 10 gallon tank with 2 goldfish! which I now know is so wrong, (and just in case your wondering the pleco is still going but only grew to 5 inches) when I told the staff that are now there this story they were shocked, told me he was only that big cos id stunted him now everytime I look at him I feel awful.



So maybe what im trying to say is dont judge a book by its cover, the store is as good as the staff that work there and the staff at stevenage are

(and thanks to jay and all the fish people at my local p@h)

 

[scooterchick]

the store is as good as the staff that work there

And that is the crux of the matter. I was at my local P@H today buying a new tank and accessories. got chatting to one of the guys who told me he had a 4' tank at home. We got onto the subject of cycling and he told me that they advise customers to buy their tank, set it up and come back a week later for fish. Then he laughed when recalling a story of someone telling him to put food in the tank to help it cycle. I said well that would help but adding amonia is the best way, he looked at me as though I was from Mars. On another occasion I heard a member of staff telling someone buying a tank to come back the next day for the fish. eek.

Anyway today there were no dead fish, they all looked fairly healthy, although there were a few strays, obviously jumpers cos a lot of the tanks were covered up. A baby RTBS in with a load of mollies, although it wsn't bothering too much. But the tanks all looked clean enough.

In my LFS where I normally buy my fish, there's one guy who I totally trust, BUT there's another I can't stand, if he's in the shop himself I'll just browse then leave without buying anything. He's told me loads of stupid things (when I didn't know better) and I saw him sell a common plec t a guy with a 2' tank.

Well, must be off, I have fish to decant into a new tank with a mature filter from an establihed tank of course.

 

[Genesis]

PAH in Aylesbury have unhelpful staff.
They recommend 3 or 4 pond fish (12"+) for a 15 Litre spongebob aquarium.
Overcrowded tanks.
Male bettas in with females.
Many dead fish, I asked why there were so many and the assistant said "we just let 'em get eaten by the others"





+ Replying to Oddball Lover's comment about silver sharks being territorial.
All sharks are territorial but RTBS are infamous for it

I found this on the internet, it is a letter to the RSPCA about PAH Bradford;




Hi, I have a concern about animals, and in my experience Guinea Pigs in the Bradford Pets at Home store. Here is my story: I spotted a guinea pig- (being myself and my family, pet guinea pig owners for many years and also currently doing Rodentology courses), who was very ill. I informed the store assitant immediately. The young assistant agreed and said he "Didn't look too peachy". I told them he looked like he had had his ribs broken by the large sized rabbit who had also been keps in the same enclosure as these small baby guinea pigs and also then an infection set in.

The assistant asked the manager, (who I know from being interviewed from her but once, but I saw conditions guinea pigs were kept in, such as bad bedding for their lungs and mixed with rabbits, poor quality food which is brown pellets and no vitamin C and also her poor attitude, I was disgusted and told her I didn't want the job). and she said "Why? what's the matter with it" to the young assistant when she asked for him to be "put in the back", when clearly he was struggling for breath.

I could not stop thinking about this guinea and went back on Thursday (17th August) and was told the guinea was getting better and to return on Monday, when it may be available for me to purchase, as I expressed my wish then, that I wanted to own him.

I returned from a weekend away and called the shop today (21st August) as soon as I knew staff would be in the store. I was told it may have been sold to someone! The manager said "oh I don't know anything about it" and passed me onto the original assistant I told about the ill animal.

I was told even due to my experience with the aminal that they would not 'reserve' the animal and they would put it in the shop and I would then have to take-'pot luck' whether it had been sold before anyone else may have had the chance to buy it- not knowing it's health backgrounds and perhaps not handling it correctly for the type of injury it had recieved.

I am very upset and angry by this and feel they should be more caring rather than a profit- only organisation and I feel you have the right to know they don't care and have a poor attitude; nor wish to pass onto experts their ill creatures and would rather just anyone came along and purchased these animals as soon as possible, as long as it is sold.

Also, my closest friend is an expert on various marine life and enjoys tropical fish, she purchased a quantity of fish from there and every one of those fish had finrot and had not received proper care in the time they were in shop, she battled to keep them alive but most died and when she returned to discuss the care of the fish they told her "Fish die!" and were not even sympathetic.

 

[5teady_2012]

thats unreal very bad that.